An independent scientist’s observations on society, technology, energy, science and the environment. “Modern science has been a voyage into the unknown, with a lesson in humility waiting at every stop. Many passengers would rather have stayed home.” – Carl Sagan

On blogging, and activism.

There are some anti-nuclear activists out there whose passion, determination and belief in what they do is an inspiration to everybody, everywhere, who’s ever contemplated any type of activism, on any level.

Take Dr. Helen Caldicott as an example. Caldicott is somewhat famous, across the world, not for being any kind of an authority on nuclear engineering, but primarily thanks to her unwavering, steadfast unwillingness to shut up and go away, even though she’s no stranger to criticism. When it comes to any type of activism, you’ve got to respect and admire that.

Caldicott, and others in the anti-nuclear movement, is a somewhat incredible person. She really does have spine, and she’ll (sometimes) give you a (reasonably) fair debate, face to face.

You can’t say the same for everybody in the anti-nuclear activism community.

Am I going to shut up and go away? Not any time soon.

I think DARPA let that incredible cat out of the bag, over 30 years ago. You can not stop the information.

Ultimately, the truth will always come out.

I’ll leave with you with an extract from a very famous speech by a very famous physicist. The anti-nuclear crowd probably won’t like it, but as a scientist, I believe in it.

There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry. There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. Our political life is also predicated on openness. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it and that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as we are free to ask what we must, free to say what we think, free to think what we will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress.